Connection
by shiznatfan27
Summary: Snippets and insight to the relationships of the characters of Marimite.
1. Penguins

**Title: **Penguins

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything.

**Character(s): **Eriko, Sei, Sachiko

**Summary:** Her legs were beginning to hurt from all that crouching, Eriko Torii was still standing next to her and one of the _penguins_ apparently decided it was a good idea to have a staring contest with her.

* * *

It was summer and she had nothing to do. Nothing except watch flightless birds waddle in snow.

They weren't even _pretty._ In fact, they were quite ugly.

But she couldn't - or rather - wouldn't leave the relative dryness of the aquarium. She glanced outside only to confirm what she had already known; the rain wasn't letting up, thus causing her to curse at it.

And Eriko Torii.

For deciding _today_, of all the other days in the summer, to visit _this_ aquarium, of all the other aquariums in town. She cursed her even more for deciding to visit the penguins (why couldn't she have gone and visit the mollusks or something). Sei briefly wondered if she was being stalked.

The idea wasn't immediately dismissed.

What Sei didn't wonder about was what Eriko wanted to talk about. She didn't have to. Yoko had been near Sei more often than usual lately. To comfort her.

About Shiori.

And she was thankful. The incident with Shiori had left a void in her, and that void had shrunk, little by little, each day. But that didn't mean she wanted to join the student council like Yoko did. Afterall she couldn't be around Sei _all _the time. Especially not with her in the Yamayurikai. It would take a miracle to convince Sei that the student council is _fun_. So it figures she enrolled Eriko in this- this- whatever it is.

But Eriko didn't say anything, so Sei didn't either. And it continued on like that.

The rain _still_ hadn't let up. And Sei was bored out of her mind. Her legs were beginning to hurt from all that crouching, Eriko Torii was still standing next to her and one of the _penguins_ apparently decided it was a good idea to have a staring contest with her.

And damn it all, she was _not _going to lose!

The penguin didn't seem to like the idea of losing either. As they stared at each other, Sei started to notice similarities between this penguin and the Lilian students.

Specifically, a certain first year who had been making a name for herself as an ice princess.

The corner of her lips quirked up as her mind played with the image of Youko's petite soeur waddling through the snow.

"Hey," Sei blinked in surprise from the sudden sound, having been too lost in her thought. It took her a moment to realized she had lost because of it. The penguin looked positively smug as it waddled away.

She decided to name it Sachiko.

She continued to glare at Sachiko as she made a sound of acknowledgement towards Eriko. Though she didn't seem to mind that Sei was paying more attention to the penguin than her as she continued, "The Emperor Penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica."

Sei didn't say anything and the scowl on her face deepened. Seconds turned to minutes and she finally decided toa glance at Eriko.

If Eriko noticed, she didn't say anything. Continuing to watch Sachiko play with the right side of her lips quirking upwards. Sei returned to her glaring of Sachiko.

Seconds, minutes and hours passed and Sei had already lost track of how long she had been crouching in front of the penguin exhibit. She was bored out of her mind, she was certain her legs would be numb from staying in the same position for so long, Eriko Torii was still standing next to her, she was fighting a losing battle to keep the scowl on her face, she had lost a staring contest with the penguin version of Ogasawara Sachiko and the rain had stopped a while ago.

But neither she or her current company made any indication that they had wanted to leave. And although Sei managed to keep the scowl on her face for just a little longer, although she pretends to not notice anything, she can feel the void in her chest shrinking just a little, _tiny_ bit more.


	2. Cucumbers

**Title: **Cucumbers

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything.

**Character(s): **Yoshino, Touko, Noriko

**Summary: **She glared at the pile of cucumbers stacked in front of her and wondered how she was supposed to interpret this.

* * *

How she ended up in this situation, she will never know. She had went to hospital to receive her daily check up; to see how her heart had been holding up since her surgery a few days ago. What she didn't expect was running into Matsudaira Touko, just as she was about to step through the door. A sense of déjà vu had washed over her at that moment. Because in that moment, Yoshino was Ogasawara and Touko was Fukuzawa Yumi.

A shudder almost escaped her at that thought.

That was how they had bumped into each other. They had parted ways without so much a word after that. There was a fleeting thought that Touko might have over heard her conversation with the doctor. Who wouldn't? He had a particularly loud voice just like her. But at least she could speak with an indoor voice when unnecessary. He had practically shouted that her new heart might fail for the whole hospital to hear.

She didn't like him much.

She decided not to dwell on it too much. It was at that thought that she had met Touko again at the entrance. They didn't say anything to each other. There wasn't _anything_ to say. Yoshino _might _have still been holding a grudge for Yumi. Afterall, Touko had basically called one of her best friend naive and stupid. Besides, they had never spoken to each other before. It seems whenever they are in each other's presence their vocabulary suddenly decide to shrink to one phrase; Gokigenyo.

Touko and Yoshino had walked together and separated at a crossroad. It was only when they had met again at the entrance of the train station that Yoshino started becoming irritated. They also entered the same train. Though all this wasn't really surprising. They were in the countryside afterall and the only place they wanted to go was home.

The train was deserted with the exception of Touko and Yoshino. They sat right next to each other as well. It would have been rude not to. Neither girls had said a word. Neither girls had acted like themselves either. They never seem to when alone with one another.

Yoshino feels like she's in a romantic comedy.

The sound of clothes rustling snapped her out of her thoughts and a hand was thrust into her line of sight. Her automatic response was to put her hand out and receive what was being offered without a second thought. She looked down.

It was a cucumber.

A crunch snapped her out of her staring. She looked over to the source of the sound. She found Touko munching on her own cucumber. Following her lead, she started eating it as well. She absently thought that it taste delicious. She never noticed Touko taking a glance at her and smiling. When she looked over, the smile was gone.

**X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.~C.U.C.U.M.B.E.R.S.~X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X**

Yoshino had arrived home late in the afternoon. Rei had been waiting for her in the kitchen, nervously playing with her hands, with all types of food spread out on the table. Looking at all the food, Yoshino felt bad. Rei had a nervous habit of cooking when she was worried. There were times when Yoshino had come home to spreads of food on the dining room table. Kitchen counter, chairs and couches when she ran out of room. Other times she found Rei trying to follow her.

She suddenly had a tempting urge to curse at Eriko.

Rei's eyes were still on her. She can practically feel them asking her if she was okay. Yoshino looked up. Rei was still playing with her hands. Yoshino sighed. She walked over and took a seat right next to Rei and started eating.

She looked over.

Rei had stopped playing with her hands. Her lips quirked up. She felt satisfied. They had cleaned up together and Yoshino had started upstairs to her room. She had only gotten halfway upstairs before the doorbell rang. She stopped and walked down the stairs, wondering who would come to her house at this time of night. When she made it downstairs, Rei had already signed for the package and walking towards her. Yoshino opened it, reached inside and grabbed something. She brought her hand out of the box and stared down.

It was a cucumber.

"Yoshino, the delivery guy told me it was for you. Is something wrong?" Rei asked.

"No, it's fine Rei-chan. Just put the box on the kitchen table." She answered. Rei did as she was told and with one last worried glance at Yoshino she left to go to her own house next door. Yoshino went in to the kitchen and glared at the box. She knew _exactly_ who sent her it. After all it was the same type of cucumbers that person gave her on the train. Having nothing better to do, she started counting and putting the cucumbers in the fridge.

There were 90 in total. Did Touko actually expect her to eat them?!

She glared at the pile of cucumbers stacked in front of her and wondered how she was supposed to interpret this.

**X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.~C.U.C.U.M.B.E.R.S.~X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X**

She wondered if she looked like she was of those old men who stared and followed high school girls home.

Yoshino wondered as she munched on the cucumber Rei had given her when they had left for school. She also stared at Touko for the better half of an hour while the other half was was comparing herself to Eriko. Touko had been sitting next to Noriko who in turn, was reading a very familiar yellow book. She had seen Sei dragging Noriko to a secluded place while Youko watched and followed with amusement in her eyes. When they had came out, the book was in Noriko's hands.

Her guts were practically screaming at her to follow Noriko. So she did. Noriko had arrived at a bench and sat next to Touko, Yoshino did not even realize that they were friends. But than again, maybe they weren't. Even from with their backs facing her, she could see that they had sat as far away as they can from each other without seeming rude. There was a tension between them that friends wouldn't have. Touko had glanced at Noriko once and proceeded to ignore her. Noriko had straightened her back and proceeded to read the book with determination.

She had stared at them for half an hour and they did not noticed. She somehow doubts that she was that stealthy. She had stepped on fallen branches, tripped, and she was sure she looked suspicious running behind the bush whenever Noriko turned around. She took one last glance at them.

Noriko was still determinedly reading, Touko had glanced at Noriko and smiled. Yoshino couldn't help but smile too.

The tension had disappeared.

**X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.~C.U.C.U.M.B.E.R.S.~X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X**

She stared at a spot on the floor. It kind of looked like a clown but she wasn't sure.

She was sitting next to Matsudaira Touko. With no one else on the train. She had actually preferred it. Touko doesn't look at her with pity like some of the Lilian students.

Sometimes... Sometimes she can even see a hint, just a _hint_, of pity in Rei's eyes. It was small, but she can still see it.

And she _hates every single one _of those moments.

So really, it was a relief when Touko came along. But there was no noise on the train except for the moving of the train itself, and it was driving her up the wall. It seems that since there first time together on the train their vocabulary had shrunk from one to before she could say anything, t_he sound of clothes rustling snapped her out of her thoughts and a hand was thrust into her line of sight. Her automatic response was to put her hand out and receive what was being offered without a second thought. She looked down._

_It was a cucumber._

A sense of déjà vu hit her.

_A crunch snapped her out of her staring. She looked over to the source of the sound. She found Touko munching on her own cucumber. Following her lead, she started eating it as well.  
_

She smiled as she continued to chew. She thought back on that day and wondered if anything had changed at all... or was it just her?

She still felt like she was in a romantic comedy, only with Sachiko and Yumi as the leads. She still doesn't talk to Touko. She was still mad at Rei. And she _definitely _still shuddered at the thought of her being Sachiko and Touko being Yumi.

She glanced over and caught Touko turning her head away from her at the last second. She couldn't control the smile that was threatening to spill from her lips. She glanced at Touko again and caught a bit of pink creeping up her ears. She couldn't even control it anymore and her lips stretched into a full blown grin. Things had definitely changed.

She couldn't help but think Touko would make a great petite soeur.


End file.
